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Chase nodded, and held Josh to him. "I know Josh…I know."
"But…she ain't got anybody…" Josh cried. "She's alone…and she's my sister no matter what. She's my sister… Tell her I loved her…Chase…please tell her. Tell her no matter what…I loved her. She is my sister…"
"You can tell her…" Chase declared in a strangled voice, realizing the boy was really dying and wishing he could prevent it. The boy had barely lived. He'd have given his own life to let this young man live. But it was not to be.
"Take…care of her…for me…" Josh cried out one last time and when he tried to raise up, he keeled over quickly, his eyes glazed.
"Josh…I promise…." Chase said and realized Josh had breathed his last. He was gone. Chase laid him down and closed his eyelids. His heart constricted for this young man who loved his sister despite the facts he had known. A knot grew in Chase's throat and he felt a tear threaten to fall. He h
adn't cried since he was just a little fellow and his pet deer died. He pushed away the memory, he had to. There was no time for this, despite the fact he had come to love this young man as his brother, there was no time to feel. He must act.
He had failed Josh, but he wouldn't and couldn't fail Katherine. Too much depended on her survival. More than ever, he realized Katherine did hold a magic power, and she knew nothing of it. He deliberately pushed the knot in his throat down, and swallowed hard.
"He dead?" The Captain demanded to know, as he stumbled into the room. He didn't seem that surprised to see Chase. But there was a more eager look about him now, as though he were thinking of his duty.
Chase was sure this man would die with his duty. He silently wondered why some lived and some died.
"Yeah…" Chase sighed, his anger and frustration needing some release. For a split second he wished it had been the Captain dying instead of this kid who never had a chance to live out his life. Emotion clouded his thinking for a moment. Indians didn't cry, but at a time like this, his white side warred with the Indian. Then he straightened himself and stood up to look about.
"What happened in here?" Chase rasped, not wanting to show his weakness in front of the Captain. Replacing his sorrow with anger.
The Captain leaned against the wall, looking about to see who was there. As though he couldn't answer that question. "I don't know, exactly. We were watching you then something hit my head. Where are the others?"
"Yeah, that's a good question. The Indians are gone. When there was no more firing, they took off, figuring everyone for dead. They will bury their dead now. But they could be back. We must leave soon. But I don't know where those boys are or Hawks, or…"
"The woman."
"Is the Corporal going to make it?" The Captain asked after a few minutes of gazing about the room for clues as to what might have gone on here.
"Yes…I think so. But he'll need help. So…let's see what's outside." Chase opened the door and immediately realized the horses were gone. He wasn't surprised, but disappointment lingered, and he began tracking them.
The Captain followed, although he was slower from his head wound.
"Over here," called Chase after he found Jesse.
The Captain ran towards his voice, "You fo…"
"The Tyler boy…The oldest one, Jesse."
But Chase was busy finding more bodies and none alive. Anger festered inside him as if a sore suddenly burst open. Hawks was a killer and that meant Katherine was in grave danger.
"Looks like Hawks got all but one. And the girl…" Chase came back.
"We'll bury them…," the Captain was saying.
"Ain't got time to bury no one, Captain. Much as I would like to see her brother taken care of." Chase shook his head. "We can bring the bodies inside, but we gotta move. The Indians will be back here, to make sure no one is alive. After they bury their dead. Hawks killed those boys. I pulled this bullet out of the one they called Rufus, and it came from a pistol, not a rifle. It wasn't the Indians that done this." He handed the bullet to the Captain, the blood still fresh on his fingers.
The Captain examined it carefully. "Alright, so Hawks is responsible for their deaths. I'll take that into account. He'll be arrested, rest assured."
"Arrested, it's Hawks that needs to hang, Captain. For what he done here. And left more than likely to blame the Indians for it. Hawks is after something, something he hasn't found yet. He won't rest until he finds it. Killin' isn't a problem for him either. We have to catch him before he hurts the girl."
"So he's got the girl and maybe the kid brother?" the Captain seemed impatient.
"You can bet on the girl, don't know about the Tyler kid…" Chase's eyes glittered dangerously at the man in front of him. "But as close a family as they seemed you can bet the kid is after Hawks too. Now I know you got dibs on hangin' us, but that girl is innocent. If you can listen, I can explain it to you real easy like. She killed the soldier to protect herself. The one she killed, already killed Mr. Bowlins the stage driver. The soldiers wanted her, Captain, and I think you know what that means. So when they gunned Bowlins down like a dog, and started to attack her I killed the other one, to protect her. That's a fact. She's an innocent in this, Captain. She was afraid, that's why she hid the bodies. She was afraid you'd think what you are thinking right now."
"An innocent doesn't bury someone then dig them up and make it look differently." The Captain reflected. "You're wasting your breath on me. But I do want to find her. Bring her to justice. As I will this Hawks fella, too."
"Justice, is that what you call it? Well, if we survive this trip, you might have the pleasure, but I gotta tell you now, I aim to stop you. No matter what it takes. I was there Captain, I know what happened. But for now, get some rest. 'Cause we got a long walk," Chase informed him.
